Filing system

ABSTRACT

Shelving for open shelf filing of papers, preferably in file folders, has end faces and partitions extending from front to rear at an angle such as 45* to the front.

United States Patent Jeter 1451 June 5, 1973 [54] FILING SYSTEM [56] References Cited [76] Inventor: Monty L. Jeter, 1008 Margate UNITED STATES PATENTS D Akron Ohio 443-13 3,190,242 6/1965 Shelly ..108/60 [22] Filed: Sept. 9, 1971 3,430,774 3/1969 Karkut 211 10 x 3,352,302 11/1967 Lear et al. ..211 50 APPL 179,023 2,742,161 4/1956 Nuttall ..211/11 Primary Examine rJames C. Mitchell [52] US. Cl. ..211/10, 211/50, 1303/6106 Ammey Harold S Meyer [51] Int. Cl. ..B42f 17/00 [58] Field of Search ..211/10, 11, 40, 41, [57] ABSTRACT Shelving for open shelf filing of papers, preferably in file folders, has end faces and partitions extending from front to rear at an angle such as 45 to the front.

6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures FILING SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Filing and retrieval of papers in business organizations and other enterprises has always been a problem,

' involving expensive equipment for housing and supporting the files of papers, and time of personnel for sorting, placement, and retrieval. Much effort has been expended in devising equipment for receiving and holding the files, to protect .them and to facilitate the mechanical operations of placement and retrieval.

Recent studies have indicated that one of the oldest and simplest arrangements is also most economical and satisfactory; namely, open shelving divided into pigeon holes by vertical partitions for vertical filing of papers in stiff file folders having the same width as the depth of the shelves. Nevertheless, users have not been completely satisfied with open shelf filing for various reasons, one being the difficulty of identifying individual files visually without pulling them at least partly out of their positions in the shelves.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In this invention, shelving is provided for filing of documents or folders containing files of papers, with the shelving having end faces and intervening partitions extending from front to back of the shelves at an angle other than a right angle, and preferably about 45, although either larger or smaller angles in the range from about 40 to 60 may be used.

This arrangement has a number of advantages. In the first place, the dimension of the shelving from front to back is greatly reduced. Thus, with 45 angles of the end faces and partitions, business correspondence on l l in. paper in 12 in. file folders can be filed on shelves only about 8% in. from front to back. This permits files to be placed along corridor walls without significantly narrowing the corridor width. It also permits shelving to be arranged back to back in parallel rows at smaller center to center spacing than would otherwise be required.

A further advantage is that when names or file numbers or other filing indicia are placed vertically along the exposed edge of the file folders, the staggered position of the folders in the diagonal shelf spaces exposes the indicia to view, so that a particular file can be identified immediately by viewing the contents of the shelves, rather than requiring manual separation of file folders filed rectangularly, which is not only a slow and inefficient way to locate a file or to find the proper location for returning a file to its place, but also damages the file folders by subjecting the edge to soiling, wear and breakage.

DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a group of modular filing units of this invention joined into an assembly.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a single module, and FIG. 3 is a front view.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are top views of end units.

FIG. 6 is a forizontal section of a modification of the invention, and FIG. 7 is a front view of this modification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The shelving of this invention may be made of any suitable material, such as wood, rigid plasticsm plastics, but is preferably made of sheet metal. Moreover, it can be made as cabinets having a plurality of shelves one above another, which may be built in, or may be supplied as movable furniture, but are preferably made in modular units of convenient width, which may be tiered as high and wide as may be convenient.

In FIG. 1 is shown an assembly of four modular shelf units 10, assembled in two tiers of two each. Each unit is essentially a box without a top and with an open front, having a bottom 11, right end 12, left end 13, and back 14. As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom 11 has the shape of a parallelogram with the right end 12 and left end 13 extending at an angle other than a right angle to the front and back, such as 45, preferably with the back 14 offset to the right with respect to the open front, so as to facilitate use by a right handed person, as will be described below.

The units 10 may be fabricated in any convenient fashion, as by forming a rectangular steel sheet of suit able rigidity to constitute the back 14 and the right end 12 and left end 13. A parallelogram shaped sheet is added to form the bottom 11, the joints with the back and end sheet being flanged and spot welded or otherwise suitably connected.

Spaced diagonal partitions 16 are inserted parallel to the right end 12 and left end 13, and are spot welded or otherwise suitably fastened to the back 14 and bottom 12. These partitions 16 need not extend as high as the back and ends, but should be more than half as high so as to provide adequate lateral support to the file folders or other stored objects.

It is not necessary to provide tops, since files of papers are ordinarily inserted from the front, and since open shelf storage of papers is usually provided in special file storage rooms, or in other quarters where the contents are protected from dust and dirt. Nevertheless, top panels may be provided if desired. In addition, when the shelf units are stacked, the bottom of each unit becomes the top of the one immediately below it.

Stacking is provided for by inwardly projecting flanges 20 at the top of the right end 12, left end 13, and back 14. Bolt holes 21 are provided in flanges 20 in locations corresponding to similar bolt holes 22 in the bottom 1 1. The stacked units are then solidly joined vertically by bolts 23 through holes 21 and 22. In addition, the modular units, when tiered laterally, may be united end to end through bolt holes 24 in the right end 12 and left end 13 by other bolts 25. Similarly, units may be bolted together back to back.

If it should be desired to square off the diagonal ends of the shelving, triangular prismatic fillers may be supplied. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4, a right hand filler 30 may have a top 31 in the shape of a right triangle with a correspondingly shaped bottom, a diagonal side face 32 which may be bolted to the right end of a shelving unit, a front 33 which may be closed or open, and a right side face 34 at a right angle to the front 33. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, a left hand filler 35 may have a top 36 in the shape of a right triangle with a correspondingly shaped bottom, a diagonal side face 37 which may be bolted to the left end of a shelving unit, a left side 38 which may be closed or open and which is at a right angle to the back face 39. If the front 33 of the right hand filler 30 and the left side 38 of the left hand filler 35 are left open, the spaces inside these fillers may be used for storage of supplies, or they may be used for temporary placement of files during the process of'putting away or retrieving files.

It is common practice in the use of open shelf filing to place filing indicia on the exposed vertical edge of file folders. However, since the folders are normally all pushed against the back of the shelf, the front edges are aligned, and when they are packed tightly, essentially none of the indicia will be easily legible. By contrast, the edges of file folders in the shelving of this invention,

' such as the edges of folders 40 in FIG. 1, are turned at an angle corresponding to the angle of ends 12 and 13 and partitions 16, so that they face partly outward, and are therefore easily visible without requiring handling of the edge of a folder to draw it away from the next folder to expose the filing indicia 41.

Since most people are right handed, placement or retrieval of files on open shelving will most often be done with the right hand, with the person facing somewhat to the left. It is, accordingly, preferred to have the files at such an angle as to be legible to a person facing toward the left along the shelving. It will generally not be necessary to place filing indicia on the back face of filed material, as is now often done, since visibility is so greatly superior in the use of this invention that indicia on the exposed vertical front edge of the file folder will generally be the only ones used.

The advantages of this invention will be most pro nounced when all files in a unit of shelving are in reasonably exact alignment across the front of the shelving unit. To accomplish this, the files should be pushed back so that they all just touch the back 14 of the shelvmg.

If file folders 8 are between successive partitions 16 in a pigeonhole which is only partially filled, a first placed file may be pushed too far so that it reaches the acute angle between the next partition 16 and the back 14, occupying the space which should be reserved for the next file. To minimize this kind of positioning, a slight modification of structure may be employed.

In this modification, shown in horizontal section in FIG. 6, the back 45 of the shelving unit, instead of having a plane surface, is formed with numerous vertical creases so that it is zigzag in horizontal section, with zigs 46 parallel to the partitions l6 and zags 47 perpendicular to the partitions. When a file folder is pushed back parallel to a partition 16, it will stop as soon as it engages a zag 47, thus maintaining the desired transverse alignment and leaving space for other file folders to be inserted in the same pigeonhole in the same alignment.

lf maximum rigidity against sagging under the weight of the contents is desired, a further modification may be made, as shown in a front view in FIG. 76 This modification includes a permanently attached top panel 50, supported by full height partitions 51. In this case, finger notches 52 in the front edges of the partitions will facilitate handling of the files. With full top panels, bolting together of stacked units is not required for security, but for ease of placement in vertical alignment, it may be desirable to press dimples 53 in corresponding locations in both top panels 50 and bottom surfaces 11.

As already pointed out, the diagonal filing provided in this invention results in a great reduction in the front to back space occupied by shelving for open shelf filing, and also results in quicker and easier location of files. The greater ease of location and placement of files has a further important advantage in permitting 1 claim;

1. Shelving for open front shelf filing, comprising parallel ends and partitions in perpendicular relation to a horizontal shelf surface and at an angle other than a right angle to the shelf front.

2. Shelving as in claim 1, having a back at a fixed distance from the shelf front.

3. Shelving as in claim 2, in which the angle of the ends and partitions is about 40 to 60 to the shelf front.

4. Shelving as in claim 3, in modular units.

5. Shelving as in claim 4, having a horizontal surface at the top for supporting other similar units.

6. Shelving as in claim 5, having a back with vertical creases forming a surface which is zigzag in horizontal section. 

1. Shelving for open front shelf filing, comprising parallel ends and partitions in perpendicular relation to a horizontal shelf surface and at an angle other than a right angle to the shelf front.
 2. Shelving as in claim 1, having a back at a fixed distance from the shelf front.
 3. Shelving as in claim 2, in which the angle of the ends and partitions is about 40* to 60* to the shelf front.
 4. Shelving as in claim 3, in modular units.
 5. Shelving as in claim 4, having a horizontal surface at the top for supporting other similar units.
 6. Shelving as in claim 5, having a back with vertical creases forming a surface which is zigzag in horizontal section. 